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MuseumsQuartier Vienna

The MQ with Arts and Cultures

MuseumsQuartier (MQ) in Vienna is a well-known European art and cultural district, converted from the 18th-century Austrian royal stables. The museum district has popular museums such as the Leopold Museum and the Modern Arts Museum, and the colorful MQ Seats in the courtyard are one of the elements that attract visitors.

The MuseumsQuartier (MQ) in Vienna is a well-known cultural and art district in Europe, covering 60,000 square meters and converted from the 18th century Austrian Royal Stables.

The 400-meter long baroque facade of the museum area is located at the southernmost point of the Hofburg Palace Complex axis. As you walk through the gate and into the flat, open atrium of the museum area, your eyes will be drawn to the curiously colored seats in the courtyard.

These MQ Seats, evolved from “Enzi” and “Enzo” to “Viena”, were designed and built by professional designers to attract more visitors. The seats can be put together in different shapes and the colors keep changing over time, and more and more visitors are coming specifically for them.

At each end of the courtyard is a modern-style museum building, which contrasts sharply with the historic 18th-century buildings surrounding the square. The light-colored facade is Leopold Museum, famous for its more than 200 works by Austrian Expressionist painter Egon Schiele. In dark gray is the Modern Arts Museum Vienna, with tens of thousands of classical modernist, minimalist, trendy and conceptual artworks.

Self-Portrait by Egon Schiele, 1912 (Leopold Museum)

Manywhere Trivia:
Try tapping the bricks on the exterior wall of the Modern Arts Museum with your hand; the different shapes of the bricks will make different melodic sounds. Be gentle, you’ll have to pay for any broken ones.

MuseumsQuartier also has museums dedicated to children and teenagers, as well as more independent art exhibition spaces. You will also find restaurants, cafes, cinemas, dance studios, performing arts stages, and other kinds of cultural and artistic facilities here. If that doesn’t satisfy you, the Natural History Museum and the Art History Museum across the road Maria-Theresien-Platz are sure to keep you entertained.